Joaquin Phoenix remains aboard the Apple movie project.

Jodie Comer’s reteaming with Ridley Scott will have to wait.

The actress, who is currently on the awards circuit for her work in Scott’s The Last Duel, has dropped out of Kitbag, the filmmaker’s epic drama centered on French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, which is set up at Apple, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Comer was to have played Josephine opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s Bonaparte in a story that is said to track the Frenchman’s rise on the battlefield and in politics, while focusing on the love story between the two.

“Unfortunately, due to COVID and changes of schedule, I don’t think I can make Kitbag work right now due to a scheduling conflict,” the actress told THR’s Scott Feinberg on his Awards Chatter podcast. She wasn’t thrilled about the development, calling it “rubbish.”

The feature is to start shooting in Europe later in January. Comer is due to begin rehearsals for her first West End stage production, Prima Facie, in March, for a limited engagement from April to June.

After the publication of this story, it was revealed Vanessa Kirby will take over Comer’s role.

Scott cast Comer opposite Matt Damon and Adam Driver in Last Duel, a medieval France-set drama where the wife of a knight accuses her husband’s friend of rape. The story is told from the perspectives of each of the three central characters. The movie was a box office disappointment, but nonetheless is generating awards buzz, with Comer’s performance as the wife among the elements most widely praised.

Comer’s next screen project to hit will be the fourth (and final) season of AMC’s Killing Eve, which launches Feb. 27.

Source